Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is an outstanding and scarce George VI-era example of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Long Service Medal with a 35-year clasp, named via stamping on the rim with W.G. KERR, for William G. Kerr of Ottawa. The medal has the George VI front with the George V rear, and only 384 were issued during this period. From our research, we found that Kerr spent a great deal of time serving in the Canadian Arctic North, earning the title “Mountie” in a 1931 newspaper article. The article discusses how he is finally home in Ottawa after 36 months at lonely police posts keeping watch and ward over the aboriginal inhabitants of the country. The article reads:

“Like all Mounties, Corporal Kerr’s lips are sealed by both unwritten tradition and printed regulations when it comes to talking about his work. Much as he might like to tell of the strange things he has seen and the unusual life he has led, he is bound to preserve an impregnable silence except to his superior officers.”

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Long Service Medal was established in 1934 during the reign of King George V. It may be awarded to RCMP officers, non-commissioned officers, and constables of irreproachable character who complete at least 20 years of service with good conduct. It remains the oldest continuously awarded honour in the Canadian honours system and was the first Canadian honour created specifically to recognize service performed by Canadians within Canada.

The medal originated after years of advocacy by members of the Royal North-West Mounted Police Veterans’ Association, with support from senior RCMP leadership and the Canadian government. The first presentation ceremony took place at Cartier Drill Hall in Ottawa in March 1935, shortly after the decoration’s creation.

This is a very scarce example of the RCMP Long Service medal from the reign of George VI. The majority of these you see will have Elizabeth II, but this is from the 1936-1948 period, with the George VI front and George V back. This medal was unique in the history of the Canadian honours system. For the first time an honour was created to reward the service of Canadians serving within Canada. Previous awards for service in Canada, like the Canada General Service Medal were presented to both Canadian and British personnel.

In a 1944-dated Nebraska newspaper story titled “Malloy of the Royal Mounted”, Kerr is included as a member of a mountie trip to the Belcher Islands, and it is noted that Kerr “was a veteran of many Arctic expeditions, and knew his way around.” In a 1931 expedition, Kerr’s hand became infected from cranking a motor boat engine, and would have lost his hand if not for the experienced doctors who arrived just in time to save him.

In another article titled “Jail and Wonderland for Alice Bullfrog”, Kerr apprehends and arrests a native Canadian girl who murdered her baby through neglect and hid the body. Kerr accompanied her alongside an interpreter so she could stand trial. The story focuses around her exploration of the new wonderland world she found herself in, and there are illustrations depicting Kerr pushing her onto a plane and seeing sights with her.

Kerr worked in the Arctic region for a very long time. In 1959, he was working with the Northern Affairs Department and arrived in Moncton to buy eight 30-40 foot open motor boats for Eskimo Fishermen along the eastern shore of Hudson Bay and on Baffin Island. He certainly cared for the plight of the Canadian natives.

Kerr finally retired in 1966 at the age of 65, and was the first northern service officer recruited by the northern affairs department. He had put in 40 years in the public service, most of them connected with the north. He spent 26-27 years with the RCMP, worked with the National Research Council, and joined Northern Affairs in 1954. This makes his 35-year clasp correct, as the 40-year service clasp was not authorized until 2004. So he wore the 35-year clasp to represent his overarching years of public service in the same region.

The medal was stamped very hard on the bottom edge which was then smoothed on the obverse below the portrait. There is no brooch as is correct.

This is an excellent and scarce example of a very rare Canadian medal, only awarded 384 times in this configuration, and identified to a real Arctic Mountie veteran.